


Baby I'm Worth It

by Wingzrooke



Series: Sirina Potter-Black: the Master of Death and Reincarnation chronicles [7]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Katekyou Hitman Reborn!, Naruto
Genre: Bratty Children being brats, But only with good intentions!, Cloud and Sky Courting, Cute Cloudlings, Inverted Clouds, No beta we die like illiterates, Reborn's Hat Gets Stolen, Skull would like to know who left this tiny Sky Child to her own devices?!, Sort-of Stalking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-26 07:55:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30102738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wingzrooke/pseuds/Wingzrooke
Summary: “If I want money, I’ll go play with the stock market some more. If I was looking for protection, I’d hire a bodyguard. I like you for you. For who you are. Besides, your flames call to mine. Do you know how rare that sort of compatibility is? And I know you probably don’t believe it any more than the others, but I was serious about freeing you from that curse and your cursed form. Even beyond all that, though, I like being around you. You make me happy.” The girl retorted, and by the end of her words she was tearing up. The girl sniffed angrily, trying to hold back the tears.“If you don’t want me around, I won’t bother you, but don’t send me away just ‘cuz of what some idiots say.” The girl demanded.
Relationships: Skull & Sirina Potter-Black
Series: Sirina Potter-Black: the Master of Death and Reincarnation chronicles [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1136087
Kudos: 149





	Baby I'm Worth It

* * *

It wasn’t easy, starting each new life over. The worst part was the separation between her flames and those of her guardians. Silently she vowed to herself to find a way to fix that. Even though she often died young, that shouldn’t mean their flame-bond had to sever too. It’s not like she was reincarnating fully and loosing all memories. In this new life, though, she’d gained something that slightly offset the pain from loosing her most recent bonds. This time she had an unprecedented _four_ older brothers! Even better, they actually acted like real family! They loved her and looked after her and everything! She’d been born to the Vongola famiglia once more, and was even named Daniella again, though this time it was Daniella the second. Her father, this time around, was the ninth Head of the Vongola, or Timoteo.

Unfortunately Timoteo did not treat family or even famiglia like her brothers did. He was more dismissive of Daniella, and tended to forget she existed. In his eyes, the sons were the important ones. Not that he loved them, no. To Timoteo his sons were more like extensions of himself. Their worth to him was in how they made him look and what they did to please him. She even started to see the signs of him becoming worried about her brothers replacing him. Even her intuition was screaming at her about the threat to _those that were hers_ , coming from the direction of their father.

Naturally Daniella tried to warn her beloved brothers, but the three eldest thought she was just paranoid because of the close call Federico had a month ago. That wasn’t the case, but she had no way to prove it to them. Stupid big brothers. Even Xanxus, who usually took her more seriously than the others, patted her on the head and told her gruffly to ‘remember your big brothers are strong, Principessa,’ and ‘trust in your family’. He meant well, but she’d been tempted to kick him in the shin for that one.

Then she found out about the attack Xanxus and his assassins were planning to take out spies who’d infiltrated the family. Spies the current Don and their father refused to do anything about. Daniella tried to warn him that the old man would see it as a coup, as Xanxus trying to take the Don’s place. This time he’d been even more dismissive of her than the others. He used sharp, cutting words to get his point across, and Daniella worked hard to hold back her tears. Xanxus had probably just found out he was adopted, and was taking his anger out on the nearest possible family member.

Since no one else would take her seriously, and Daniella was still too little to make her brothers go into hiding or fake their deaths, she did the only thing she could do. Daniella couldn’t sit around and watch her beloved (but stupid) big brothers be murdered or put on ice by their father. Nor would she sit around and wait for Timoteo to remember he also had a daughter who could inherit.

While Xanxus led his ‘attack’ on the main mansion and any traitors within, she snuck out of the house. Her father and other brothers were all too busy trying to deal with Xanxus and his assassins to notice where she’d gotten to. Her plan was simple. She created a Mist-Cloud Clone, cloaked in Mist flames, outside the mansion. Then the clone removed the flames once it was out of sight of the manor. The clone assumed an adult henge that looked like her adult Naruko self, and then snuck back into the manor fully visible.

The clone snuck all the way to Daniella’s room and then ‘overpowered’ the ‘unsuspecting’ Daniella. When Daniella appeared to be ‘knocked out’ on the floor, the clone tied her up and snuck the both of them (still both fully visible) down to the garage. The clone stole a car, tossed Daniella into the back seat, and then drove off with no-one the wiser.

In the next town over, Daniella made a second clone though this time the clone stayed looking like Daniella’s current body. She sent the two clones and the car on their way. Somewhere along the way they would have an ‘accident’, and all the Vongola would find when they came looking was the two bodies. Thanks to a little magic, the bodies would remain and even decompose like normal bodies. They could even do DNA tests on the remains and it they would read as the bodies of her current body and her previous Naruko body. In the meantime, Daniella pulled on a henge of her Sirina Potter-Black self.

Then she exited the ally and took a train. She didn’t have a plan right now, but she would figure something out. Maybe she’d go see what this reality’s Skull was doing. She had a special soft spot for the Skulls of every reality she’d yet lived in, and expected this Skull would probably be the same. Maybe he didn’t already have a Sky…? First she should probably procure some more funds, though. Stock market, here she comes!

* * *

Skull was attempting to force his flames outside his body once more. It was an ongoing project, really. One he started when he was first informed about flames, back before the curse but after meeting the other members of the strongest seven. Even back then Skull didn’t have enough money or mafia connections to procure someone to teach him how to use his Cloud flames properly. It’d been like pulling teeth just to get a basic explanation of flames from the others. In the end he’d used up most of the money that wasn’t tied up in his career as a stuntman in paying Viper to give him the explanation.

Despite their miserly, money-grubbing ways, Skull was still grateful that their pride and professionalism meant they didn’t skimp on the explanation. There hadn’t been any extra money leftover to pay for even a few lessons, though. So he’d been experimenting on his own, in between watching the others covertly to see how they used their flames. Fon and Viper seemed to have no trouble manifesting their flames outside their body. Reborn, Colonello, Lal Mirch, Luce, and Aria all used mediums like weapons or rings to use their flames externally. That was probably half of why Skull was so dead-set on using his flames externally without some sort of focusing or channeling implement. Reborn and Colonello likely couldn’t. Skull still wasn’t sure how Verde used his flames, if the genius ever did.

So far Skull could use his flames internally for healing, or rather speeding up how quickly his body healed. He’d also learned to multiply his muscles, his speed, his agility, and how well/far his senses could perceive. Of course he didn’t really _need_ to use his flames to be strong. Others often underestimated Skull simply because they didn’t understand anything about his former profession.

Even Viper, miserable information and money miser that he was, hadn’t figured out how strong Skull actually is. Despite knowing Skull was a stuntman. The others simply didn’t really know what it _took_ to be a stuntman. It helped that Skull led them to believe that he’d just been a motorcycle stuntman. Helped that they thought all he did was perform shows where he rode up a ramp and let the motorcycle do the work of crossing over some cars or something before landing on the other side. Not to say that was exactly _easy_ , but Skull was an all-rounder. He did everything from ‘typical’ motorcycle stunts to stunt-doubling and beyond.

Skull had more martial arts skills and experience using them in fights than anyone except perhaps Fon and the army duo. He’d even done a couple of stints as body-doubles for famous people while bodyguarding them.

Skull had the skills, he just didn’t feel like flaunting them. Why not, when it probably meant he wouldn’t have to deal with Reborn and Colonello’s pestering, threats, and the bruises that he would be inundated with if the knew of his true level of prowess? Those two would definitely see Skull as a threat and rival, if they knew. Besides, Skull had nothing to prove to anyone and he didn’t particularly want to be a part of the underworld.

That didn’t mean he wanted to ignore his flames altogether, though. Just because he had other skills didn’t mean he wanted to neglect what his flames could do for him. A lot of time and patience had been used up trying to figure out his flames. Even still, _Projecting_ his flames remained out of his reach so far. He couldn’t even channel his flames into another person to help them recover faster, like he’d heard of other Clouds doing. He remained undaunted in his pursuit, though. He _would_ get it someday. He _would._

Today he was practicing in a small glen he’d found while hiking in the mountains. Already it was two hours after he’d started practicing, about halfway through his normal training time. He was just standing up to take a break when one of the bushes to his right rustled slightly before going still. Skull narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the bush. Had one of the others discovered what he was doing and come to mock him once more?

“Come out! I know you’re there!” He called sharply. With a small huff, a young girl that appeared to be somewhere between eleven and fifteen – Skull was bad with guessing kids’ ages – shimmied their way out of the bush.

“What are you doing here?” Skull demanded. The girl flushed slightly, but raised her chin defiantly.

“I’m here to convince you how awesome I am!” The girl proclaimed, then winced. He had the feeling that wasn’t what she meant to come out of her mouth at all. He raised one eyebrow judgmentally and waited.

“I want to be your Sky, and you to be my Cloud.” She added, pouting a little. Skull relaxed a little. He couldn’t hear anyone else around, which means the girl had probably come on her own. It was neither the worst nor the best recruitment ‘offer’ he’d ever received. Now that he was looking for it, he could indeed get a faint sense of Sky flames drifting from her direction. It wasn’t very strong, though. Her ‘Sky’ probably wasn’t ‘big enough’ or rather strong enough, to ‘hold’ his Cloud flames and form a bond.

“And how did you plan to show me how awesome you are?” He wondered. He also wondered where her caretakers, or guardians, or guards were. The girl grinned, and it was all teeth.

“Set me a challenge, Skull de Mort. I’ll definitely defeat it!” She proclaimed. Well, she was amusing if nothing else.

“Look kid, even if I was interested, the level of flames you produce simply isn’t strong enough to bond with me.” He informed her with a sigh. The girl rolled her eyes.

“Am too.” She huffed, and then she _flared._ If the amount of flames he’d sensed off her before could fill a thimble and had a watery consistency, then now her flames were the size of the ocean and more solid than bricks. If it weren’t for her flames leaving an open sphere around him, Skull probably wouldn’t be able to breathe. Her eyes’ challenging light upped intensity. Well, after a display like _that_ , Skull would throw her a bone.

“Alright, bratling. A challenge for you: a spar with me.” He offered. She tilted her head slightly, challenge giving way to consideration in her gaze.

“With or without flames?”

“Without.” He replied, wanting to roll his own eyes. Honestly, she was already twice as tall as him. Not that it took much, since he was cursed to the size of a toddler. She didn’t need another advantage over him, even if it was unlikely she would have much fighting prowess. From what he’d seen, most Skies relied solely on their flames or guns to fight. Still, he wasn’t about to give her the advantage of Sky flames in a fight. Sky flames were such a cheat. He especially wasn’t about to admit to a child he’d just met that he couldn’t really use his flames in a fight, other than increasing his own body’s capabilities.

The girl didn’t seem worried, though. Perhaps she was used to others going easy on her? He wouldn’t. Or perhaps she was one of the rare Skies that received proper training. Either way, he’d find out in a moment. She came to stand across from Skull and bowed politely. Skull copied the gesture. As soon as they were both fully upright, she launched herself at him.

He’d give her one thing: she clearly wasn’t afraid to come at him with the intent to harm. Nor did she avoid ‘dirty tricks’ when fighting. She came at him seriously and with all her might, instead of treating him like the toddler he appeared or the weakling others thought of him as. She was a blur of movement, actually faster than Skull himself. He still managed to keep up with her, though.

He countered every hit or kick she threw at him, although they left bruises and stinging behind. He also launched attacks of his own. He was rather surprised and pleased to find they were rather evenly matched. At one point they broke apart to regain their breath for a moment. Skull took that moment to press a button on his watch. The button, once pressed, sent a signal for his Carcassa-funded blimp to come pick him up. It would take a few more moments for the blimp to reach them, though.

She used mostly kicks against him, since he was so much shorter than her. Skull wasn’t limited to only his legs and feet in his attacks. There was just so much more of her to hit than there was of Skull. Due to the whole curse thing. She kicked out at him and he jumped over her feet. She punched him while he was mid-air, and Skull flew across the clearing. He flipped as he flew through the air so that he landed with his feet against the trunk of a tree, instead of his head or back.

Immediately Skull sprung back from the tree, but flew just over her head as she ducked under his torpedo-like attack. Skull landed in a roll and sprung to his feet while she spun around to face him once more. The girl sent a flurry of kicks at him and Skull sprang backwards, though faster than he had last time. She followed, and he ducked beneath one of her kicks and dove beneath (and behind) her. He punched at the back of her knee before she could turn, and the leg collapsed beneath her. She fell towards the dirt, Skull quickly jumping out of the way.

She didn’t waste time, though. Instead of hauling herself to her feet, or jumping up, the girl rolled and attempted to use a steam-roller like move on Skull. Skull jumped over her and away, and the girl jumped back to her feet quickly. As Skull landed, a rope ladder dropped in front of him. He gave her a bit of a jaunty wave, which made the girl bare her teeth in frustration. He smiled in that cheery way that usually made Reborn and Colonello fume.

“Challenge over. Not bad, kid. See ya!” he called as the rope ladder was hauled upwards by the winch. The girl jumped for the ladder, but it was hauled up so quickly she couldn’t quite make it. As the ladder was hauled up, the blimp also flew away so that the clearing and girl were out of his sight in only a handful of moments. It was sort of a pity, it had been a fun spar, but he had no interest in staying in the mafia.

Time to leave the country. Perhaps France would be a better training spot than Germany for remaining undisturbed?

* * *

France was not a better spot for remaining undisturbed. Somehow the girl had found him, despite his switching countries. Granted he’d gotten a good week of training in before she’d tracked him down. This time he’d already finished his training before she found him. Instead of hiding in the bushes like last time, she trotted right up to him.

“I’m here to prove how awesome I am!” She declared once more. Apparently she was sticking with that declaration. It was kind of cute, in a bratty sort of way.

“Oh? My running away didn’t deter you?” He inquired, quirking an eyebrow. She shook her head.

“You just need more convincing, is all.” She proclaimed. Did this kid have no one watching over her? Seriously, who let this tiny Sky flit around Europe chasing him? Oh well, not his problem. Skull sighed. Obviously he needed to give her a harder challenge. What challenge could he give her that a pampered Sky probably wouldn’t be able to do…? Ah….that would work. Probably.

“Very well. A challenge for you, then: cook me a dish of Gnocchi Parisienne in honor of our being in France.” It was unlikely a spoiled Sky-child would know how to cook, and even if she did she most likely would not have even come across Gnocchi Parisienne before. The girl nodded sharply.

“Fine. But you have to meet me here a week from today to try it.” She demanded.

“Ah, but it wouldn’t be a _challenge_ if I gave you a week to complete it. That would just be an opportunity to learn. You want to complete the challenge, you’ll attempt to cook it by the end of the day.” He disagreed. She pouted but didn’t argue with him.

“Fine. But you better be here when I get back!” She declared, pointing at him dramatically.

“I’ll be here until five. That gives you four hours.” He agreed amiably. The girl nodded sharply, spun around, and ran off towards the nearby town. Skull shook his head before dismissing the kid from his mind and getting back to work. He’d actually forgotten about the child by the time she showed up. He checked his watch, and it was four thirty. She’d made it withing the time-limit, at least.

He took one look in the pan and winced. He could tell right away she’d made it wrong. For one thing, she’d used Italian gnocchi pasta, instead of the choux pastry that was used in Gnocchi Parisienne. They _had_ been poached then baked, but…it definitely wasn’t the right dish.

When Skull tried to inform her of her failure, the girl pouted. Her little cheeks puffed up and she pointed at him once more.

“You haven’t even tried it yet! I made it just for you, so you better at least try it!” She shouted.

“No.” he denied instantly. “You made the wrong dish.” It looked like the girl would tear up for a second, and Skull sort of panicked. “Fine! Fine! I’ll try it, if it means that much. Yeesh.” He grumbled. He picked up a bunch of the pasta on a spoon and ate a couple of the pieces of pasta. It was…basically inedible. And hard. Very hard. Still, he managed to choke them down without actually choking.

“I figured it probably wouldn’t be very good, so I made you a dish I actually know _how_ to make. Just so you’d know I _can_ cook, even thought I’m not a professional.” She informed him after he dropped the spoon back into the dish. Then she pulled a series of tupperware out of her backpack.

To his disbelief, the girl pulled out a picnic blanket and a full three-course meal, sides, drinks, and dessert out of her backpack. It probably took Mist assistance to fit all that into the tiny backpack. The girl seated herself on the blanket, and Skull sat across from her curiously.

The first course was a small pot of brie fondant au pesto (melted brie with pesto), served with pesto and slices of baguette. The dish was still steaming from when she’d cooked it, but she placed a hand over both their dishes and brought it back up to fully melted by using the heat of her Sky flames. Warming the fondue was followed by warming the sliced up baguette. She gave him a challenging look once more, and Skull picked up a sliced of baguette and a knife. After quickly spreading some of the fondue on his slice of baguette, Skull bit into the bread.

Surprisingly the food was not only tongue-curling-ly good, but the Sky flames spread throughout the dish warmed him spiritually as well. It was a bit like getting an extremely good meal and being cuddled up with a loved one in front of a fireplace with hot chocolate on a cold winter’s night. After he’d taken the first bit, she followed his example and they quickly finished off the pot between them.

For the next course, the soup course, she served him a creamy crab and shrimp bisque. She served everything on actual china dishes, though they didn’t look like the expensive type. She also had cheese, crackers, and a selection of drinks spread out around them. Skull chose the sparkling water since it would go with whatever she was serving. She took sparkling water as well. The drinks were served in their original glass bottles.

Once more she made sure everything was at the right temperature with her flames, despite the soup being steaming when she opened the sealed pot she brought it in. This time he was braced for the effect of the Sky flames, but it didn’t make the experience any less sweet. The soup quickly went the same way as the hors d'oeuvre course.

After they’d finished the soup, the girl produced the appetizer course. This time it was Raspberry Brie tartlets. Much like the first two courses, they were perfect. The crust was perfectly flaky and crips, the raspberry sharp and the brie mellow. He found himself especially disappointed when they’d finished the tarts.

The salad course was a typical salad, with a lemony dressing. Although it was good, it didn’t contain as much Sky flames as the other dishes and therefore sort of melded into the background. He enjoyed everything, to be honest. For the fish course she served him braised Salmon in a creamy lemon sauce. The main course was a chicken dish. She’d rolled up the chicken and filled it with some sort of cheese, and cut the rolls into slices on a slant.

Her choice for the palate cleanser course she introduced as ‘Le Trou Normand Sorbet’. In other words, an apple brandy sorbet. Somehow she’d managed to make it while removing the alcohol content but leaving the flavor. Skull was grateful for that, as his tiny toddler body couldn’t handle alcohol of any type. Not even a drop.

Dessert was a clafoutis. A baked dessert, this one was blueberries covered in a thick flan-like batter. The final course, the mignardise course, was something she’d called ‘choco-mandarine’. It was some sort of upside-down wafer dome made of nuts, milk chocolate, and maybe something else, topped with a circle of flat dark chocolate, and topped by a dollop of mandarin creameux on top.

By the end Skull was more than full, and very impressed. Obviously she knew her way around these specific dishes at the very least. Unfortunately for her, Skull still had a job to do today. The alarm on his watch went off. Skull stood up and brushed himself off.

“Pretty good, kid. Still didn’t win my challenge.” He informed her. Not because he was cruel, but rather because he didn’t want her to get false hope. Skull wasn’t interested in being her guardian. Even if she was a really good cook. He sort of wondered how she’d managed to make all these dishes in four hours, especially the sorbet. Maybe she’d had it pre-made in her freezer wherever she was staying? Not that it mattered now.

The girl made a face of protest, but before she could speak up he caught sight of a descending ladder from above. With a cloud flame-assisted leap, Skull caught the ladder and was shortly in the blimp once more. He’d have to change countries again after this job.

* * *

The third time she caught up to him again, Skull was mid-job in Russia. Currently he and the ten men Carcassa’d sent with him on this particular job, were pinned down. Two of them had been shot and were in the process of dying as quietly as they could on the ground. The rest of the group hid behind trees and returned what fire they could at their enemies.

Suddenly Skull saw one of the people hiding behind trees in front of them drop to the ground and out of hiding. The blasted-out front of his head pointed to being shot in the head as the cause. Several more of the enemies fell to the ground with various gunshot wounds. The amount of people shooting at Skull’s squad decreased rapidly. Unfortunately the enemy quickly caught on and half of their remaining people turned to shoot back at the (possible) reinforcements for Skull’s squad.

A few more enemies dropped, and someone – someone very small, and Skull’s stomach dropped at the small dark figure making their way towards him in the dim light) – started working their way towards Skull’s group. When they got close enough, Skull’s fears were confirmed. The girl had indeed found him at one of the worst possible times.

“Hi! Need a hand?” The girl panted at Skull once she made her way to the tree next to Skull.

“ **What are you doing here?!** ” Skull demanded. The girl frowned at him. Her eyes clearly conveyed: ‘what do you think I’m doing here?’. Skull resisted the intense urge to face-palm. He couldn’t leave her behind this time, either. Even thought he wasn’t interested in being her Cloud, he didn’t wish her to be caught and tortured to death by the Russian bratva. Or (possibly) worse, caught and _kept_ by the bratva family Skull’s group currently fought. The Bratva families wanted a Sky just as much as their mafia counterparts.

“Nevermind. Keep down. Let us handle this.” Skull hissed lowly.

“I can help!” She protested. Skull growled, but the girl’s eyes flared in defiance and the need to prove herself to Skull. What had he done to deserve having this child inflicted upon him? While he was wondering that, Cloud flames flared from the girl, and she silently sped away at Cloud-assisted speed.

He and his minion’s jaws dropped as the girl practically ricocheted her way through the trees, shooting each bratva enemy as she passed over their heads. It took about four minutes for the last shooter to be down. Naturally Skull held his fire during that time, but his minions were not quite so quick to catch on. Somehow the girl avoided being hit by either side’s bullets, though.

When the last enemy lay dead on the ground, the girl dropped down to stand on the ground and sped back to Skull. She looked up at him like a puppy waiting for a treat after performing a trick. He didn’t want to reward her for risking herself like that…but clearly she knew what she was doing.

“You can count that as your challenge for today.” He grunted out through clenched teeth. The girl beamed up at him radiantly and pumped her fist into the air in victory. His eight remaining minions gathered around.

“Who’s this?” one of them asked. Skull turned to regard his minions more firmly. Here was a problem. The Carcassa absolutely _could not_ know about this impossible, insane, un-guarded Sky child. They especially couldn’t find out she was attempting to court Skull. That famiglia would immediately try to make Skull accept her, or at least trick her into joining the Carcassa.

“An ally of mine. Let’s get the loot back to the drop-off.” Skull replied flatly. Sensing his unwillingness to continue the conversation, the minions immediately picked up both the two dead members of their party and the bag of things they’d stolen from the bratva family at the Carcassa famiglia’s request. Skull kept the girl at his side until after he’d parted from the minions and loot. He led the girl to his hotel and up to his suite. Thankfully the Carcassa had provided Skull a suite with two rooms, so that the minions would have a place to stay while they planned the heist.

“You can take the second room.” He informed her. The girl looked stunned, but was quick to make use of the bathroom.

No surprise there. The girl had been with Skull for a good six hours while they trekked out of the woods and to the drop-off point. Skull needed to use the restroom as well, honestly. Skull retreated to his own room and bathroom. About ten minutes later there was a timid knock on his door.

“Skull?” The girl called quietly. Skull finished changing from his mission-clothes into his typical motorcycle outfit. Then he opened the door.

“What is it, child?” He sighed. The girl tugged anxiously at one of her pigtails.

“Have you eaten already?” She inquired. Skull shook his head. The girl’s anxious look melted into one of determination.

“Alright. I’m going to make you something, then.” She declared. Then she marched out the door, and Skull cursed under his breath as he quickly grabbed his keycard from his bedroom and caught up to her. The next half hour was spent following her around the market. Thankfully she didn’t ask him to purchase anything, because Skull hadn’t grabbed his wallet.

After they finally made it back, the girl quickly whipped up a light dinner. Unfortunately the results were…less than stellar. He wasn’t sure if it was because she was nervous, or because she only knew certain dishes. She’d definitely been looking up the recipe on her phone while she cooked, so perhaps it was being unfamiliar with the dish. Either way, the smoke-detector in their suite’s kitchen went off and Skull ended up calling for takeout while the girl cried.

He did, eventually, manage to get her to stop crying and turn off the smoke detector. One by application of soothing words, the other by having the girl rip out the batteries. It was not an auspicious start to what Skull felt would be a very long association. The girl had more than proved she was not the type to give up easily.

* * *

Despite himself, finding out she had Cloud flames made her twice as tempting a Sky. Both Skies and Clouds were rare, but Skull had _never_ heard of a Cloudy Sky before. A Sunny or Stormy Sky, sure. And somewhat more rarely a Rainy Sky. But never a Cloudy Sky. A Cloudy Sky was a dream Clouds kept to themselves or whispered about with other Clouds during the short times when their paths crossed. What would it be like, having a Sky that was _Home-Acceptance-Warmth_ but also _SharedFreedom-and-Understanding_?

Would she understand his desire to be free of the Mafia’s grasping chains? They’d been together for two months now, and he’d known her for five. She’d yet to protest moving anywhere. Also yet to appear was any sort of guardian, guard, family, or famiglia of the girl’s. His concern for the child was mounting. Despite himself, she’d grown on him. Not so much that he wouldn’t part from her if it was required to leave the mafia or meet his goals, but definitely enough that he would regret the parting and miss her.

As a sort of silent test, Skull made it a point to travel to different continents to see how she’d react. Surely this would cause problems? He went to South America on a job for the Carcassa, flying a private plane for a smuggling run from South America back to the Carcassa. The girl accompanied him without complaint, and stayed in the plane when he told her to.

Next he took them to Australia. It wasn’t even part of a job. Once more she didn’t complain, and even made herself useful. He was almost held back from boarding the plane as ‘a toddler without a guardian’, until the girl explained he was her uncle and suffered from a rare, extreme form of dwarfism. Skull produced his Luce-provided identification, which had a picture of his baby-fied form. They were waved on without any more trouble.

The only trouble she had on their travels was with the spider they found in one of their hotels. Skull was barely able to keep her from burning the place to the ground that time. Other than that she seemed to be an excellent Sky. And the longer they were together the more tempted he was to give in to her courting. He wondered if this was anything like Stockholm Syndrome. Or maybe getting addicted to Sky Flames was a thing and no one had told him?

* * *

Turns out Skull was more right than he knew. They were together for a long time. The girl accompanied him for a further nine months, all the while trying to defeat the ‘challenges’ Skull set her. If a few of those ‘challenges’ were to wait in the hotel room while Skull did his Mafia-missions, well no one but he needed to know. The girl was under the impression that he was clearing out to give her time to prepare some sort of food or something. Depending on the challenge he set her, of course. She stuck with him all the way until it was time for the annual Arcobaleno meeting. The girl flew into Palermo with him, and then he left her at the hotel.

Not without telling her he had an important meeting to attend first, of course. He assumed that, like before, the girl would stay in the hotel despite the fact that he hadn’t set her a ‘challenge’ for the day. It would prove to be an incorrect assumption. Skull took a motorcycle out into the countryside and to the mansion where the meeting would take place. The rest of the Arcobaleno are already there, Aria because it’s the Giglio Nero Summer home, and the others probably having arrived at least a day earlier. The Competitive jerks.

Naturally Reborn is the first one to spot Skull, despite Aria seer-like abilities, and he greets Skull with a hail of gunfire. By now Skull is more than capable of dodging the bullets with ease, though he pretends to flail his way through them. Skull wonders if Reborn’s noticed he has a pattern to his shooting, but quickly discards the thought. He doesn’t think Reborn can _actually_ read minds like the man claims, but then again, Aria can see some of the future … better safe than sorry.

What Skull _doesn’t_ expect is the rain of rocks which intercept the bullets, one of which beans Reborn right in the trigger finger. The Worlds Greatest Hitman™ jerks his gun down and back, spinning to look at the bushes to Skull’s left and Reborn’s right. The other Arcobaleno are drawn towards the unexpected conflict out of curiosity, and they form a semi-circle about five feet behind Reborn and Skull.

Skull feels a headache begin to stir just before the girl pops out of the bushes. He probably shouldn’t be surprised that she’s dripping cloud flames and looks to be on the edge of raging at Reborn, after all she’s been courting him for almost a year, but somehow he is surprised. He half expects the girl to take Reborn on physically, but to both his and the other Arcobaleno’s bemusement, she starts to verbally scold the Sun instead.

She starts it off with Reborn’s lack of professionalism, which (according to her) should take him out of the running for the greatest _anything_ let alone a professional hitman. That is followed up by telling Reborn he is acting like a baby – all tantrums, snot, and crap— and does he want people to think he’s _actually_ an infant instead of just cursed into that form? Her rant goes on for a good ten minutes, with Reborn turning a bit red in irritation (and none of them had ever seen Reborn get truly irritated before, so it really is a first). Then she spills Skull’s ‘secret’. Unintentionally, but still he’d rather she kept quiet about it…

“Just because Skull is too professional to take you out doesn’t make him weak! He’s a _stuntman_. Do you even know what that means? Or did you just note he’s good with motorcycles and assume it meant stunt- _rider_? There’s a good reason he’s famous, you know! I bet Skull could take any of you on, except maybe Fon-san! Everyone knows Skull’s a prodigy!” She huffed. Then she turned her big green eyes up to Skull, and his irritation with her is instantly forgotten. Her wide-eyed puppy look sort of melts him inside a little, not that he’d ever tell anyone.

“Skull-sama! I know you won’t beat this idiot up like he deserves, but would you be very mad if _I_ thrashed him? Somebody needs to pound some manners into his _thick head_.” She requests, and Skull has to make a quick decision here. It’s a surprise that she acknowledges the other Arcobaleno as _Skull’s_ , despite Skull not really claiming them as his territory. He’s not sure if she can really take Reborn without getting hurt, though. Which is his only concern, really, so he decides to come right out and say it.

“It’s not that I care whether you thrash him or not,” Skull begins and barely refrains from snorting at the look on the other Arcobaleno’s faces. It’s almost like they thought he was fond of them, or something. Why would he claim Reborn when the man has gone out of his way to denigrate and humiliate Skull at every turn? No, the Sun was not Skull’s in the least. Their shock is rather funny, though. Did they honestly expect him to care for people who’d never given any care for Skull? Idiots.

“But I don’t want you to get hurt.” He cautions, and if his eyes go a little fierce as he says it, well no else would point it out. Skull makes sure to give Reborn a pointed look, a warning against harming the tiny Sky. It becomes obvious Reborn didn’t get the hint when the child takes Skull’s words as permission instead of the warning they were meant to be.

She throws herself at Reborn, and the small Sun counters the girl with his Leon Gun. None of Reborn’s shots get too close to her, though. Skull knows this is likely at least half on purpose, because despite his reputation Reborn doesn’t care to harm kids. The other half, though, is because she’s moving and dodging to fast for even Reborn to aim accurately at her. Despite that, Skull’s seen her move even faster before, whenever she shows up mid-mission. Apparently she’s trying to show off for Skull again, because normally Skull can’t see more than a blur as she moves.

Eventually, between her speed and Reborn’s unwillingness to take her seriously, she pins the man to the ground. She’d gotten a few good hits on the Sun before then, but once she has the man pinned she just sort of sits on his back and looks to Skull. He’s not sure if she didn’t expect to be able to pin the man, or if she just doesn’t want to hit a man when he’s already down.

Wide-eyed, she turned her gaze to Skull, who looks amused and beckons her to his side. Quickly she abandons the sun, practically skipping over to Skull. She looks down to him happily.

“Let Reborn wallow in his defeat by a ten-year-old.” Skull suggests, grinning at the girl. She smiles back.

“Okay, Skull!” The girl chirps, actually chirps like some sort of strange human-bird hybrid.

“Who are you?” Verde asks, looking intrigued, and the question startles Skull a little. The girl still hadn’t introduced herself to him, and he’d sort of forgotten to ask her name. In his mind she was simply _The Girl_. The one who kept chasing him around, an interesting child.

“You can call me Rin-hime!” The girl chirped. Several eyebrows rose amongst the Arcobaleno, except Skull, who wanted to coo. This small Sky had copied his naming-scheme! The self-proclaimed Skull- _sama_ and little (although not compared to Skull’s current size) baby Sky Rin- _hime_. If he shot her a fond look, that was his business.

“Hime?” Fon was the one to chuckle. Skull couldn’t help the irritated look he shot the Chinese man. Perhaps he was fonder of the girl than he’d thought.

“Yes.” The girl, Rin, replied firmly. “Also, if it isn’t beneath your dignity, I’d love to spar with you sometime, Red-dragon-san.” She added cheerfully.

“Red-dragon-san?” Fon repeated disbelievingly. “People outside the Triads don’t usually refer to me as Hong Long. You may call me Fon, if you wish.” The Storm chuckled a little. The Girl (and why did he have such trouble using her name even in his own mind?!) blinked, but after a moment shrugged off her surprise.

“Okay, Fon-san!” She agreed at length. Then, like a rubber-band that had been extended just a little too far, her attention snapped back to Skull.

“Does this meeting usually take a long time? How come you’re meeting?” She began to question, and then more seriously “and _have you eaten?”_ The girl demanded. Skull sighed. The Girl, Rin’s, preoccupation with ensuring he ate properly seemed to be an over-arching concern for her. Had someone convinced her it was a Sky’s job, or was this just a _her_ thing?

“Skull-sama had an inflight meal only an hour ago.” Skull reminded the child gently. The girl scowled.

“That isn’t real food.” She informed him. Then, probably realizing he wouldn’t answer her next question, she turned to the others (now including Reborn, who’d stood up while they weren’t paying attention).   
  


“Where’s the kitchen?” She demanded. Aria, looking very amused, offered to show the little Sky to the kitchen. The girl looked torn for a moment, before she nodded seriously. Then she turned back to Skull and pointed a firm finger at him.

“Don’t go anywhere, you!” She declared. “I’m going to make you _the best_ food!” She declared. Skull internally winced a little. Some of her past dishes had been…memorable. Apparently he hadn’t kept his apprehension internal enough, because the girl scowled at him.

“Don’t give me that look! It’ll be good food.” The girl sniffed, and Skull felt a moment of panic. He didn’t do well with crying children. He was well aware of the irony of that, yes. Didn’t change the facts.

“You’ll see!” She declared, before turning around, and bolting in the direction of the nearby mansion. The little Sky scooped up Aria as she dashed past, causing Aria to squeak and worrying the other Arcobaleno for Aria’s safety. Skull just sighed. Dramatic little child. Not like he could talk, though.

“Aria will be fine.” Skull assured the others. “Kid’s just embarrassed. Still smart enough to take Aria with her so she doesn’t have to wait for Aria to catch up.” Skull informed them.

“Who is she?” Reborn…well, it wasn’t a demand exactly. Except that it was Reborn, so no matter what tone he used it truthfully was a demand. Unanswered questions were followed up with bullets by that man. Little—Rin wasn’t exactly wrong when she’d called the sun childish in his reactions. Still, he didn’t want the other Arcobaleno worried enough, or worse curious enough, to interfere with the little Sky. Despite the fact he hadn’t decided on whether to accept the child or not yet, he honestly found the attention flattering. No one else in the mafia had bothered to try courting him properly, despite (or perhaps because of) being an Arcobaleno.

“Hmm. She’s been Courting me for a few months. Not sure if she’s part of a famiglia or not. If she is, she hasn’t mentioned them. Good kid.” Skull offered.

“A Cloud courting another Cloud? Guess there’s a first time for everything…” Verde muttered, and Skull blinked. They thought she was only a Cloud? Couldn’t they feel the Sky flames radiating off her so strongly? Then he thought back to the beginning of the meeting.

It was true the girl had been overwhelmingly exuding Cloud flames when Reborn set off her temper. Now that he thought about it, he could not sense her Sky flames. If not for her Cloud flames radiating embarrassment from the direction of the mansion, he’d be concerned for her safety. Was she…was the girl _hiding_ her Sky flames from the other Arcobaleno?

The thought was honestly touching. A little disconcerting, too, as he’d never met a Sky who could suppress their own flames so well that not even the highly skilled senses of the Arcobaleno could pick up traces of Sky flame. What must the child have gone through, to be able to hide her Sky flames so well? In his distraction over Rin, Skull absently responded to Verde’s musings.

“Not really. Most Clouds prefer the occasional company of other Clouds. We prefer our mentors and partners be Clouds, too. Most Clouds find it easier to understand and communicate successfully with other Clouds. Also, it’s nice to deal with people who understand one.” Skull’s words startled the others, but it didn’t take more than a milli-second for Verde to start scribbling down Skull’s words.

“Fascinating…” Verde muttered as he scribbled. Skull rolled his eyes.

 _“Scientists.”_ He thought dryly. Now that the others were reassured of the girl’s relative harmlessness to Aria, the topic turned to their main reason for meeting: discussing any breakthroughs that might have been made on the curse. And, of course, exchanging gossip. Since breakthroughs on the curse happened pretty much _never_ , it was mostly exchanging gossip. As usual, Skull chose to mostly just listen. Because he didn’t make it a point to beat up Reborn or Colonello whenever the two attempted to walk all over him, and because of his former civilian status, the others didn’t expect Skull to have much to add. Which was fine with Skull. Honestly, he preferred they underestimate him. Thankfully they still held this attitude, despite little Rin’s scolding earlier.

So Skull mostly listened as the others shared information. It was still useful for him to know, even if the others assumed he couldn’t do anything with the information. They assumed so much about him…honestly most people did. Make assumptions about Skull, that is. Skull wondered how the—how Rin knew Skull could have beat Reborn up whenever he chose? His actual strength was one of Skull’s closest guarded secrets.

He kept it secret because he wanted to leave the mafia if ( _please let it be_ when) the curse broke. Or at least, he used to. Honestly, that was part of the reason he was so hesitant to give in to the little Sky’s courting. If he became her Guardian, he’d have to give up on going back to his old career and way of life. Give up the idea of ever leaving the Underworld and Mafia altogether. A Sky would never be allowed to escape.

“Ta-da!” The girl’s eager chirping startled Skull from his contemplations, and a plate with a bowl of Soba noodle soup and some traditional Japanese condiments on the side. Looking closer, Skull noted the condiments in this case were sliced spring onions. A rueful smile tugged at his lips. Although he was fond of Japanese food, it wasn’t his favorite. Better than the twenty-four/seven pasta dishes he was usually forced to eat during this week-long meeting, though.

“Thank you.” Skull murmured, and the girl’s smile turned up to what he privately called her ‘Sky-smile’: a sparkling smile full of warmth and happiness that inspired the same in the person or people around her. In her joy at his praise, the girl must have let up on her control over her Sky flames, because a few tendrils slipped out and brushed shyly against Skull.

The startled eyes of the other Arcobaleno, who’d been pretending to ignore the interaction up to that point, shot to the girl and then Skull. Skull’s own eyes shot them a warning look, completely unintentionally. His lips curled away from his teeth in what was more a warning grimace to the other Arcobaleno than a smile for the child. The girl didn’t seem the least bothered by the slightly threatening aura Skull’d begun radiating towards the other Arcobaleno, though.

“Neh, Skull! Eat it before it gets cold, okay?” The girl chirped, completely ignoring the byplay. It was just a small bit of understanding, the little Sky not being worried about Skull’s irritation at the others, but touching nonetheless.

 _“A Cloudy Sky truly is different_.” Skull thought.

“Of course, little Hime.” Skull agreed aloud. He picked the bowl up off the plate, along with the provided utensil, and proceeded to quickly eat everything. As usual when the girl made food, the best part was the subtle Sky flames woven throughout the food. The feelings of affection and care that radiated from the delicate strands of Sky flames and food filling not just one’s stomach but also one’s heart and soul. This time the food wasn’t bad, either. Which was nice because Skull had choked down several …less than palatable burnt meals so that he could get the flames that went with them. Not to say she usually made inedible or burnt food, but there had definitely been a learning curve with some dishes. Especially when she was trying out fancy dishes for the first time. He returned the bowl to the plate, and patted the girl on the shin.

“Pretty good, Hime.” He praised. The girl lit up, practically glowing at his compliment. Compliments from Skull were rare, even for his little stalker. The others, not knowing how much of a compliment he’d actually given the little Sky, glared at Skull. It had been a long time (even before the curse) since any of them had been courted by a Sky. The word quickly spread that most of them were simply too strong for any of the mafia’s Skies to pull them into orbit. That was another reason Skull had yet to make a decision on accepting or rejecting the girl.

He was more than a little afraid that even if he did accept her, she might not be strong enough to pull him in. He didn’t want to finally choose a Sky only to find out he could never be hers. Skull was an inverted Cloud, which meant a person or people were his territory. But he hadn’t chosen a territory yet. To have her as _his_ , his territory, his friend, his charge, but be forced to watch as she courted another Cloud and bonded to them…to be on the outside looking in even more so than before…Skull would not be able to handle that. It would probably kill him. As it was, somedays he was barely hanging on, thanks to the curse.

The little Sky took the plate back to the mansion, and Reborn sidled up next to Skull. The others didn’t even attempt to be subtle. Skull ignored them, watching to make sure the girl made it safely back to the mansion until she was out of sight behind the mansion’s walls.

“Even if she were strong enough to bond with, it wouldn’t be fair to the girl to bond with her and then die of the curse. We probably don’t have much time left.” Reborn stated flatly. Skull’s mouth turned down at the corners, but…

“I know.” Skull admitted. The final and biggest reason why he hadn’t made a move one way or another. A cursed guardian wasn’t much good, really. He was in a tiny form, would not be able to adequately protect her or take care of her. And the girl obviously, _badly_ needed someone to take care of her. Whether or not she had a family, she’d somehow been left to her own devices. Skull was leaning towards her not having a family because no one in their right mind would leave a Sky to their own devices, let alone such a cute little one.

Not that he was going to send her away. Even if he could. And seeing her Cloud flames, Skull highly doubted his ability to send her away. Clouds, much like some lightnings, tended to _fixate_. He had yet to figure out whether she was a classic or inverted Cloud, but he was leaning towards inverted simply because she was a Sky. Well, that and she kept following him around and trying to feed him. Cute kid that she was. Though to be fair, that might be half his fault for setting so many food-challenges.

All these thoughts passed through his mind while the other Arcobaleno (minus Aria, who was still in the mansion somewhere) sat in a momentarily surprised silence.

“What do you plan to do?” Fon asked gently. It was a bit strange, this gentleness from a known Triad enforcer and assassin, but that was Fon. Calm and serene until he wasn’t.

“I don’t know. Can’t let her wander on her own much longer, though. If she has a family or famiglia, she hasn’t admitted to it. Plus she’s never got anyone else with her.” Skull admitted, still staring at the mansion. Even Fon frowned at his reply.

“You think she’s alone? No family? I know you said she hasn’t admitted to having one…” Fon mused, turning to thoughtfully regard the mansion as well. Skull turned his own attention to those surrounding him.

“I think I’ve been on three different continents in the last nine months and she’s followed me everywhere. If she _does_ have family or famiglia, they aren’t worth the name.”

“Something will have to be done. Dino would probably take her in, if I asked.” Reborn stated faux-casually. Skull stiffened. No…!

“Skull, you can’t protect her. And worse, if she follows you when you’re at the Carcassa place, they’ll either sell her off or force her into their famiglia. That’s no place for a baby Sky.” Reborn scolded. Skull met Reborn’s eyes.

“You think it’s an accident I haven’t been back there since she started following me?” Skull asked flatly. “Despite your opinion on my intelligence, I’m not actually stupid.” He added dryly to the Sun. Reborn, naturally, didn’t flinch from Skull’s stare. The silent battle of wills, Reborn trying to make Skull _see_ , could have continued into infinity. Were they not interrupted.

“None of which is actually your business. Or your place to tell me.” Rin’s irritated voice broke through their contest and their concentration. “ _I_ decide where I go and who I spend time with. If Skull were the type to try to control me, I would not be courting him. As for Family or Famiglia, that’s none of your business either.” The girl’s chin was thrust out, her shoulders back and she looked like she was bracing herself against the other Arcobaleno’s opinions. She glared down at the hitman.

“Principessa, you need protection. Surely you must realize what most of the Underworld would do to you if given the chance?” Reborn scolds, attempting to be gentle but really coming off more as patronizing. Skull winced. The girl may be a Sky, but she was also a Cloud. That wasn’t going to be taken well. Sure enough…

“They can _try_.” She growled, green eyes flashing violet and Cloud flames flaring warningly. It was so cute to see a baby Cloud flaring like that. Internally Skull cooed a bit. So cute. Reborn sighed, and the girl’s flames flared higher. Predictably, Reborn ended up face-down in the dirt once more. This time no one even saw her move. Unlike last time, this time she ground his face down into the dirt. More surprisingly, Leon let her.

“My flames do not make me weak. Nor do they make me a _thing_. An object to be placed in a glass case and only taken out when someone else has a use for me.” She informed the hitman in a growl. Eventually she had enough of grinding him into the dust, but apparently felt he hadn’t been punished enough.

“I’m keeping this until you stop being an idiot.” She informed Reborn, picking up his hat from where it’d fallen nearby. She then plopped said hat on her own head and trotted back to Skull’s side. Reborn, who hadn’t even tried to struggle against her (apparently wary of hurting the little Sky or something), stood and brushed himself off.

“If you weren’t helping to power the world, you wouldn’t be getting off so easy, jerk.” She grumbled under her breath.

“Powering the world?” Verde questioned, the ever-capricious scientist’s attention caught by the girl’s muttered comment. Realizing she hadn’t been _quite_ quiet enough, the girl flushed, but looked a little perplexed at the question.

“Yeah, you know. Arcobaleno? Those who power the world?” she replied, cocking her head to the side.

“What does our curse have to do with the world?” Colonello demanded, and the others eagerly awaited her answer.

“Don’t you know? Aria told me while we were in the kitchen. The Arcobaleno are those cursed with an infant form to help them survive the syphoning off of their flames to help power the world and keep it from ending. _Which~_ , according to her mind you, is why I should leave Skull alone and let some idiot run my life and put me in a glass case somewhere.” The girl half recited; half hummed.

“Most of us were not aware of that detail, no.” Verde, frantically scribbling into his notebook once more, informed Rin. The girl frowned.

“Well, now you know.” She shrugged.

“What would happen without the Arcobaleno…batteries?” Verde pressed the girl. The girl shrugged.

“That would probably depend on if you found an alternate power source or not. If not, the world would die, probably.” The girl answered calmly. While talking, the girl had managed to sit herself down next to Skull. She looked pleased he hadn’t walked away yet, which tugged on Skull’s heartstrings a little.

What _was_ he going to do about her? He couldn’t avoid the Carcassa forever, Reborn was right about that much. Being so tiny, Skull couldn’t take many jobs. The Carcassa were the only ones who’d offered him jobs with very few strings attached. Not the only one to offer him jobs, not even close, but the only offer he’d considered taking. None of the Carcassa’s ‘strings’ had been objectionable to Skull, despite the famiglia themselves being objectionable to him. He’d taken the offer simply because he needed to survive. He’d need to go back to their base to catch up and choose his next series of ‘assignments’ soon to keep eating. It’d been too long since the last one, according to his bank account.

“If you don’t take Reborn’s offer, what _will_ you do? Skull wouldn’t want to tie you to a dying element, won’t want to be responsible for the pain you’d go through when he dies. We’ve been cursed for a long time, now. It probably won’t be too long before, like batteries, we’re ‘used up’.” Lal Mirch remarked. Skull sort of wanted to punch the woman. Rin, precious little Cloudling that she was, gave the woman an unimpressed look.

“I’ll hurt if he dies either way. Just ‘cuz we’re not bonded doesn’t mean he’s not _mine_. It just means he hasn’t let me be _his_ yet. We don’t have to be bonded as Sky and Element for me to _care_. And if he _were_ to be My Own bonded and not just mine, then I’d just have to break the curse for him. Obviously.” The tiny cloudlette huffed.

“If the greatest minds in the world can’t break the curse, there’s no way you can.” Verde, instantly offended, barked at the girl. Skull jumped to the girl’s shoulder and wound his right arm around her head in a sort of hug.

“Verde—” Skull growled; angry the Lightning would speak to the girl that way. For her part, the girl was dismissive.

“Believe what you want. It’s not like I was giving the offer to _you_.” She huffed, rolling her eyes. The idea that the baby Sky was making the offer solely to Skull was touching, even if she probably couldn’t break the curse for him.

“Now, now. No need to fight. Be nice to Skull’s guest, okay?” Aria chimed sweetly as she rejoined them. Skull ignored that, though. Through the rest of the afternoon and evening his mind continued to dwell on the girl, even when most of his focus was on something else.

Eventually they had dinner, and then Skull started to leave the dining room. Almost-silent footsteps behind him alerted Skull that Rin was still following him, but he found he didn’t really mind. Until Aria called out from behind them.

“Rin, the servants have cleared out a room for you on this floor.” Aria announced gently. Skull’s flames raced up his spine and settled heavily on his shoulders. He _did not like_ the others, even Aria, planning for the girl. Skull turned back to take in the situation fully. The girl was glancing to him unsurely, probably afraid Skull would up and take off when he was out of her sight. Despite the fact that he hadn’t tried to leave her behind since the second time.

Aria, on the other hand, had the same ‘it’s for your own good’ scheming look on her face that Luce used to get. That look set off warning bells all through Skull’s mind. Skull immediately stomped over to the girl and threaded his hand through hers.

“That won’t be necessary.” Skull informed the rest, turning and tugging Rin along behind himself. Silently the girl followed Skull all the way from the ground-floor dining room up to Skull’s room on the third floor. The door clicked behind them and Skull finally released her hand. His shoulders hunched a little as he admitted:

“They’re right, you know. I can’t take care of you. I can barely keep myself fed most of the time. And in this useless form…I can’t protect you at all.” Skull admitted to her unhappily, now that he didn’t have the pressure of the others taking her away. The girl snorted.

“If I want money, I’ll go play with the stock market some more. If I was looking for protection, I’d hire a bodyguard. I like you for _you_. For who you are. Besides, your flames call to mine. Do you know how rare that sort of compatibility is? And I know you probably don’t believe it any more than the others, but I was serious about freeing you from that curse and your cursed form. Even beyond all that, though, I like being around you. You make me happy.” The girl retorted, and by the end of her words she was tearing up. The girl sniffed angrily, trying to hold back the tears.

“If you don’t want me around, I won’t bother you, but don’t send me away just ‘cuz of what some idiots say.” The girl demanded. “And if money is a problem, then let _me_ take care of _you_. I’ve got more than enough money for both of us, and I can always make more.” She declared. As touching as the declaration was, Skull remained skeptical.

“I don’t want to send you away. I’ll…think about the rest.” Skull sighed in defeat. “For tonight…let’s just go to sleep.” He offered. The girl nodded solemnly, and moved towards the closet.

“What are you doing?” He demanded gruffly. Rin gave him an odd look.

“Going to get some blankets and pillows down to make myself a place to sleep…?” She replied questioningly. Skull wanted to groan. This girl. Seriously.

“Take the bed, Cloudling.” He ordered gruffly. An obstinate look started to slide onto her face, and Rin opened her mouth to argue. Skull cut her off before she could get started. “I’m not asking, I’m telling you. You want to stay, take the bed. I’m not going to sleep anyways if you try to sleep on the floor.” He growled. The girl sighed.

“I guess we can share.” She agreed, and Skull rolled his eyes.

“Don’t try to make this one of those daytime-drama cliches. I may be cursed into a baby form, but I’m also at least eight to ten years older than you. You’ll take the bed and I’ll take the chair.” Skull informed her flatly. Then he marched over to the recliner in the corner and pulled the nearby blanket over himself. In a show of trust, he closed his eyes and pretended to fall asleep.

Hesitantly the soft footsteps moved away towards the door, the lock was clicked into place (as though that would stop _any_ of the other Arcobaleno if they were determined), and the lights clicked off. Moments later the footsteps padded back to the bed and then there was the typical rustling as the child got into the bed. Skull listened to her position herself and then breath quietly until she fell asleep. Then he allowed his own thoughts to still and sleep to overtake him as well.

* * *

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> Not really sure where this one is going, but the basic idea of Ri showing up and tailing Skull around like a lost puppy sort of hit me and refused to go away until I got this bit out. Updates (if there are any) will be very slow.
> 
> I don't know...I probably could have cut out like half of this and had a better story? I'm not really sure how I feel about it. At least it's not sitting alone in my file of unpublished stories any more, though. That's...really all I have to say about this story for now. Hopefully this helps a bit in breaking up my writer's block.
> 
> Send help.
> 
> ~Wingz


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